The Power of User-Generated Content: Harnessing the Creative Force of Your Audience 

Many marketers strive to promote authenticity and relatability in their marketing campaigns. It’s a worthy effort to make however the fact is; consumers only trust brand-created content so far. To truly share authentic and relatable content, brands must tap into the creative power of their own audiences. 

What is UGC? 

If you’ve ever snapped a picture at your favorite restaurant and posted it on social media, you’ve created UGC. User-generated content consists of images, videos, reviews, and other brand-related media that are created by customers with no influence from the brand itself. It’s the Facebook post full of approval for your service or the YouTube unboxing video with high acclaim for your product. 

UGC is pretty powerful stuff, able to influence buying decisions and increase conversions. 85% of people say UGC is more influential than brand-created content, recreating the age-old word-of-mouth recommendation in the digital age. And while 93% of marketers recognize that shoppers trust content created by customers more than brand content, many are not making the most of this goldmine. 

What are the benefits of user-generated content? 

Authenticity 

The key benefit of user-generated content is the inherent sense of authenticity. The creator doesn’t have a sales agenda behind giving a strong positive review so it is seen as more genuine. Ultimately, people trust other people, with studies showing that shoppers are more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to brand-created content. 

It’s worth noting at this point, the difference between influencer content and UGC. While influencers are not (generally) part of the company and create product or service related content, the lack of authenticity holds it back from being true UGC. This distinction affects the impact of the content, with a study suggesting that consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making a purchasing decision. 

Trust and brand loyalty 

Sharing content that is seen as more genuine and authentic inspires trust. And trust drives growth. Customers with high levels of trust in a brand are more likely to be loyal even if the price is higher, engage with brand activity and actively advocate – all of which increase conversions. So it’s not a stretch to say that UGC can have a big impact on revenue. 

Sharing customer content also acts as social proof that your products are genuine. Providing external validation of a product or service’s effectiveness and reliability will help brands influence purchasing decisions. It also creates an emotional connection with your customers, bringing them into the company story to increase their affinity with your brand.  

Greater return on investment (ROI) 

Not only is UGC great for increasing customer lifetime value and influencing purchasing decisions, but it also comes with virtually no cost. This makes UGC a cost-effective method of expanding your marketing efforts without having to invest in expensive content creation. Content marketers are often at the mercy of insufficient resources, making it hard to consistently produce quality content. UGC is where companies can save time and resources. 

Tips for using UGC in your marketing strategy 

Don’t limit yourself to social media 

Reposting positive customer comments or content shows strong social proof but there are so many other places to include UGC in your marketing efforts. Use customer content to give a stronger sense of authenticity and relatability to your online and offline ads, show on your website how the product was used by a ‘real’ person or tap into your customer’s creativity to entertain the rest of your audience. 

Collect customer insights 

Auditing and analyzing customer content can reveal insights to use in your main marketing campaigns. For example, if a brand’s UGC is commonly around how a product solves a specific problem, it may be worth placing greater emphasis on this in core marketing messaging. User-generated content can be a goldmine of customer data that is often overlooked. 

Have a strategy in place 

Just like any element of your marketing strategy, UGC must fit into the overarching strategy and help reach marketing goals and KPIs. How can you use the UGC that your audience is already creating to enhance the customer journey? Do you need to set up a competition or similar to incentivize your audience to make UGC? While customer content may bring in a fresh perspective on your product, it must still align with your brand message and tone. 

Set out UGC best practices 

Finally, on a more practical note, it’s important to follow best practices for working with UGC to avoid alienating some of your most loyal customers. For example, always ask permission to use UGC before using or sharing on your channels, credit the original creator, and feature a diverse range of your audience’s content. Set these guidelines out before using UGC in your marketing. 

The round-up: celebrate your loyal audience 

UGC is an authentic and cost-effective method of making your brand’s products more relatable to your audience. As a form of modern-day word of mouth, UGC acts as social proof that your brand is reliable and trustworthy. Ultimately, people trust other people over companies so presenting external validation from real brand advocates can be a powerful element of your marketing strategy. 

Would you like to learn more? Contact US to discuss how we can help with your marketing strategies.